


Foreign Devil

by Tarlan



Category: Lunch With Charles (2001)
Genre: F/M, Humor, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-12-08
Updated: 2004-12-08
Packaged: 2017-10-19 03:57:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/196605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life was good...until April's mother decided she wanted to pay a visit to see her daughter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Foreign Devil

"What do I do?"

April paced back and forward across the apartment Cora shared with Tom. She knew Tom would be home soon and that he and Cora had plans for the evening but April had no one else to turn to. The letter held in her tight fist no longer looked as pristine as it had when it first came out of the envelope. Instead, it looked as terrible as its contents.

"How could Matthew do this?"

Cora grabbed her arm and brought her back to the couch, forcing her to sit down. "Have you ever considered just telling her about Matthew?"

April's eyes widened in shock at the very notion of telling her mother that she had taken up with a _foreign devil_. Vividly, she recalled her mother's tears, and fears, when she first left Hong Kong to take this job in Canada, almost four years ago.

"She said, _I know you will meet one of those foreign devils and forget all about your mother and your home. Think of Tong, think of all you will lose._ " April turned to Cora, "That's what she said to me just before I boarded."

"She was probably just a little insane with--"

"Cora! We are talking about my mother!"

"Okay, _insane_ wasn't the right word... distraught. She was probably a little distraught."

" _Don't forget us for some foreign devil_ , she said... and I did!" April wailed, staggering back to her feet and resuming her pacing around the room, the letter suffering even greater damage.

"Talking of foreign devils. Where is Matthew?"

"I spoke to him last night. His publisher had offered him an extension to his assignment in China... just for one week. I told him to take it." Tears filled her eyes but she brushed off Cora's comforting hand, sinking back onto the couch and raising her fists to her mouth.

Even though she was upset with him, she still missed him. On the day he left, she had come straight from the airport to see Cora, unable to bear going back to an empty house that held too many remembrances of his soft laughter and gentle hands. He had been gone for almost a week now, and April thought she was coping very well--until the letter arrived this morning.

"Look, Tom and I can go out another night. Why don't you stay here tonight?"

Cora looked up in time to see Tom hovering on the threshold of the room with a resigned look on his face but there were some things more important than a fancy dinner for two.

"Have you phoned your mother?"

"She doesn't have a phone. I tried calling Tong, but he is on tour with his group. I don't know what else to do."

****

After settling April down to sleep, Cora returned to the front room and slumped onto the couch next to Tom, grateful when he said nothing about their unexpected guest. They both knew it was just the hormones talking and both wished that Matthew had not chosen so late in April's pregnancy to go off on an assignment.

Cora smiled as she considered the lingering innocence that drew people to Matthew, making them willing to share their thoughts and their lives with him. He had been a travelogue writer before meeting his former lover, traveling all over the world with bright-eyed enthusiasm and a desire to reach out to people in different worlds and cultures.

Now, he had returned to the work he adored, leaving behind the soul-destroying work that he had taken out of his love for Natasha, but with one difference. He always came home to April as soon as he could, even cutting short assignments when he missed her too much.

Knowing him as well as she did now, Cora could hardly believe that someone with such a zest for life and a need for human companionship could have willingly cut himself off from both. However, he had done so out of love, living in the remoteness outside of Princetown while thinking up inane words of condolences for a card business, and all for Natasha's sake.

Natasha was gone now, seeking new experiences in Europe but the ripples she made in all their lives had forever changed them.

Cora took Tom's hand in hers and held it tight, smiling when he squeezed her hand gently.

"Let's go to bed," he whispered in a soft Irish lilt that sent tingles of pleasure through her. She grinned in response and dragged him to his feet and out the door, quickly leading him to their bedroom.

****

April awoke halfway through the night with the predicable need to use the toilet. The baby was lying pushing down on her bladder but she smiled as she felt the ripple of movement inside her. Not that the baby had a whole lot of room at this stage of her pregnancy.

As she sat back down on the bed, her thoughts turned to the one person she needed to be here right now.

Often, his travels took Matthew away for weeks at a time but there would be excited calls every day as he recounted the people he had met, letting her share in his discoveries. In between his travels, he would stay home and write, selling the smaller articles to magazines while he worked on his book.

She laughed softly as she thought of how many times he had borrowed her laptop before she presented him with one of his own. Strange, but if someone had told her--even on the day she met Matthew--that she would one day buy expensive love gifts for a _foreign devil_ , then she would have been shocked and affronted. Instead, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to share whatever she had with him and, in return, he showed her how to gain the most from all aspects of her life.

After two years together, the times she adored most were coming home from the office each day to find freshly made bread cooling on the rack and having her lover's strong arms waiting to embrace her. She loved to gaze deep into his green eyes as he asked her about her day, and to count the freckles on his pale skin as they lay together after making love.

Loving and generous--almost to a fault--Matthew was perfect in every way... save one.

Her greatest concern had always been for her mother. At first, she had worried about her mother's reaction to the end of her marriage to Tong, but then came her fear of how her mother would react when she learned of the new man in her daughter's life.

However, as Matthew had pointed out on that first incredible journey from Princetown to Banff, the fact that he was white was her mother's problem, not theirs. Still, her mother would look upon Matthew as one of those foreign devils whom April should avoid at all costs.

Wishing to please her mother, April told her nothing.

Matthew had tried to reason with her on numerous occasions but had always bowed to her wishes in the end, shaking his head in despair whenever she phoned her mother and pretended she had no one in her life. He even asked if she was ashamed of him, sending her headlong into a guilt trip that almost cost her the man she had come to love. Yet she persisted in the lie.

The day she discovered she was pregnant, despite all the precautions they had been taking, should have been the happiest of her life. Instead, she was terrified, wanting to share this happiness with her mother but aware that she would then have to tell her all about the baby's _foreign devil_ father.

Once again, she decided to say nothing... and then, with only a month to go before the baby arrived, Matthew took matters into his own hands. He sent a letter bomb to her mother: a photocopy of the baby scan, and a plane ticket.

Her mother would be arriving in Canada in one week and April had no idea how she was going to explain everything.

The clock was ticking.

****

**One week later:  
Hong Kong Airport**

Matthew waited patiently in the boarding queue, eager to be heading home though he was uncertain of the reception he would receive. On the phone, April had been happy one moment and then angry the next, still concerned over his decision to send a plane ticket to her mother. However, Matthew felt no regrets. He was a part of her life and a part of the child she carried, no matter what April's mother thought of white men.

He found his seat quickly and sank his tall frame into the narrow seat, wishing he had booked earlier and managed to grab the aisle seat. He smiled warmly at the elderly Chinese man who had taken the window seat and, moments later, a Chinese woman approached. She stared at the empty aisle seat and then at her ticket. Then she stared at Matthew before rechecking all three, spending the longest time on him, especially.

He offered his warmest smile and stood up, asking if she needed any assistance. The woman narrowed her dark almond eyes before pushing her small carry-on into his arms. She pointed up at the overhead compartment that was too high for her small frame to reach, and Matthew happily obliged.

Four hours after take-off, Matthew could still not get comfortable in the small seat. Several times, the cramped conditions had forced him to get up and walk the length of the cabin, stopping often to talk happily with complete strangers. Now, back in his seat once more, he placed the small laptop onto the pull-down tray. He smiled as he stroked the lid. April had presented it to him last year out of sheer desperation after he kept borrowing hers.

He tried to concentrate on his book, stretching out his long legs because they bumped up uncomfortably against the bottom of his makeshift table, but the seat in front hindered his efforts. To his right, he heard the woman sigh crossly so he tried to stay still but ended up jostling her with his elbow.

Another huff came and then she whacked him on the arm, rose to her feet, and insisted he get up. In confusion, he closed up the laptop and, holding it carefully, he moved into the aisle. Matthew frowned as the woman slipped into his seat beside the older man and made herself comfortable.

With chagrin, Matthew realized he had probably asked her to let him out of his seat more than a dozen times since take-off, and bumped her several more times besides as he tried to eat the small dinner the air hostess placed before him. He had bumped her several times more as he set up the laptop. Quietly mumbling an apology, he offered her a contrite smile that, amazingly, she accepted with a twinkle in her eye.

He sighed and stretched his legs into the aisle, making certain they could not trip up the unwary, finding a modicum of comfort for the first time since the flight began.

As he worked on his book, he sorted through all the amazing photos of people and places he had taken on his travels. His eyes flicked sideways as he felt another set of eyes watching, and he turned and smiled at the woman, showing he was not annoyed at the intrusion.

In a mixture of bad Chinese and simple English, Matthew started a conversation that drew in both of his seat companions, showing them photos of people from all over the world. The lushness of the rainforest contrasted sharply with the sea of sand in the Sahara but most every person had a brilliant smile that united them all, no matter which distant land he or she came from.

The elderly man knew more English than the woman and translated back and forth between the three as Matthew described some of the incredible people he had met and, in turn, listened to their stories. He laughed in pleasure when the woman told him she was on her way to Canada to visit her only daughter who was expecting a baby. In turn, he told her about his own impending fatherhood, enjoyed at finding some common ground between them.

At her insistence, he pulled down her carry-on and watched as she delved through the contents, pulling out gifts for the new baby that would bring luck, wealth, and happiness. He brought out his own small gifts, giving a silly grin when she praised his choices.

They fell into silence soon after but it was one of comfort, lacking all the tension from before. The air hostess dimmed the cabin lights and Matthew smiled as both of his flight companions fell asleep. Silently, he pulled open the private folder and stared at the beautiful oriental woman who had become the most important person in his life. He sighed, softly, as his finger traced her small elfin features and her bright smile, hoping she was no longer mad at him.

The disparate travelers parted with warm words of pleasure when the plane landed several hours later. Matthew joining the queue for returning Canadian citizens, while the old man and woman took another route through immigration.

Grabbing his luggage from the carousel, Matthew walked swiftly through the final obstacle, having nothing to declare to Customs. As he passed through one last set of doors, the noise of the concourse struck him and he could not help but smile as he watched happy reunions taking place all around him.

"Matthew! Matthew!"

He heard his name above the sound of the crowd and he smiled when he saw Cora waiting close by.

"Are you here to pick me up?"

Cora gave a smile that seemed overly bright. "April asked me if I wouldn't mind."

"Is she here?"

Matthew frowned as Cora grabbed him by the hand and began to drag him towards the exit at a fast pace.

"It's too noisy here," she said by way of explanation, so Matthew picked up the pace as she led him towards the parking lot. Once they moved out of the hustle and bustle of the airport, Matthew stopped.

"How's April. I mean, is she still mad at me?"

"April? Oh no. No. She had an appointment to keep so I offered to pick you up."

Matthew smiled in relief and helped Cora load his bags into the car. As they drove off, he saw the Chinese woman at the taxi rank and he waved, smiling as she waved back at him.

****

"Mother?"

April looked up from the back of the cab, where she was instructing the driver on placing her mother's cases securely into the car. When her mother called her, three days ago, to let her know that she had changed her flight details to arrive a whole week earlier, April had been pleased. Matthew would still be in China so she would have time to prepare her mother for the shock.

However, Matthew decided to cut his visit to China short by a week and she was stunned when he called her just before boarding his flight. A seat became available at the last minute so he gave her the flight details; they were the same as her mother's details.

Cora had agreed to drive her to the airport and she waited at the arrivals, filled with dread, terrified of how her mother would react on seeing Matthew. When one of the first people to walk through the gate turned out to be the man she loved, April panicked, resisting the urge to run to him and throw her arms around him.

"Cora, I can't do it. Pretend I have an appointment. Take Matthew home for me."

"What about you and your mother?"

"I'll take her to a hotel... tell her I'm decorating so there's no room."

"April--"

"Please, Cora."

As April settled into the backseat of the cab next to her mother, she felt tears burning in her eyes. She did not want to hurt either of these two people for she loved them both and found she was in a terrible position.

If she told her mother about Matthew, then she would be hurting her mother because she knew how deeply her mother disliked those _foreign devils_. Yet, if she said nothing, and pretended the father of her baby was not a foreign devil and held no special place in her heart and life, then Matthew would be hurt.

She needed more time to think.

"I met a lovely young man on the plane. One of those foreign devils but..." she trailed off with a smile. "Tong still visits me when he can. Such a lovely man and he was a good son-in-law." April could hear the reproach in her mother's voice. "If you had returned home with him then this baby would have a father."

"The baby has a father."

"Ah... but where is he? And why have you not sent a picture of him?"

April gasped, recalling the photos of Cora's brother that she had placed around the house. In her shock, she had forgotten all about them. What if Matthew saw the pictures? She scrabbled in her bag and pulled out her cellphone, pressing the speed dial number that would reach Cora while, simultaneously apologizing to her mother.

"Cora, Li wanted some photos to come down from display. I need to get them right away."

"Li?" There was a moment of silence before Cora understood the message. "Okay. I'll... stop off at the store and buy some... some groceries."

****

Matthew glanced across at Cora. "Was that April?"

"NO... it was Li. You remember my brother, Li. He's been sick and..." She smiled. "You don't mind if we stopped off on the way to pick up some things he needs?"

Although he was tired from the long flight and eager to see April, Matthew shrugged, giving his agreement happily. When she stopped outside the store, he followed her inside, picking up some of his favorite candies and the makings for bread, knowing how much April liked having his freshly baked bread in the mornings. He frowned when Cora seemed to take forever to choose a breakfast cereal from the shelf.

"Which one is best?"

"Sorry," he replied.

"Which of these is healthier?"

Matthew took the two boxes she held and scanned the ingredients before checking though the nutrition information. Natasha had been adamant about certain types of food and cooking processes, talking of positive and negative energies that affected the body. She had taught much of this to Matthew, making him aware of which foods could be detrimental to both physical and spiritual health.

Natasha would have put back both of the packages he held, instead, reaching for the organic oatmeal on the shelf below.

"You sure you want one of these?" He glanced down at the oatmeal and her eyes followed his movement.

"I... I mean Li hates oatmeal."

With little to choose between the two cereals in his hands, he thrust the one with the brightest package towards her. Cora placed it in to her trolley and moved on to the next aisle.

By the time they drew up outside the home Matthew shared with April, another hour had passed.

****

In the meantime, April gave the cab driver directions to her home, silently praying Cora would keep Matthew occupied while she hid away all the photographs of Li.

Although she asked her mother to wait in the car, her mother had other ideas and told the driver to unload her luggage. With some trepidation, April walked into the house, issuing a sigh of relief that Matthew had not arrived home yet. She made a silent promise to buy Cora a small gift of thanks.

Before April could hide away the photos of Li, her mother seized one and smiled brightly.

"Is this him? So handsome."

April was in a quandary. What could she say? She opened her mouth, ready to speak the lie that would make her mother happy but hurt her lover, when she saw her mother frown.

****

It had fallen over face down on the mantel but she spotted it as April rushed to gather up the four or five photos of the handsome Chinese man whom she had believed was the father of her daughter's baby. Lifting this photo up for a closer look, her eyes flicked first to April's, then to the smiling Chinese man, and then back to the photo in her hand.

Within the photo, she saw the look of love and joy in April's eyes and, with a start, she recognized the foreign devil whose arms enfolded her daughter. His green eyes were alight with happiness as he held April with the intimacy of a lover.

Her thoughts returned to the long flight, and to the man who had made the harrowing trip from her homeland such a pleasurable experience despite the bad start to their friendship. She recalled his joy as he spoke of becoming a father, delighting in the gifts she had brought with her for her first grandchild. It was not hard to see his generous and warm nature, and it had amazed her how so many responded to him with equal pleasure as he chatted happily with the strangers around him, no matter their age, race or gender.

"Mother. I really should take you to your hotel so you can rest after the long flight."

"I have a better idea. I will make tea... and then we shall sit and rest while we wait for Matthew to come home."

April gasped, eyes going wide with shock. "Matthew?" She choked out his name.

Turning the photo around, she displayed the loving couple to April.

"You know Matthew?"

At that moment, they heard the key in the lock. Moments later, Matthew stood on the threshold of the room with a brilliant smile lighting his handsome face when he saw April. Long strides took him across the room swiftly, and he swept April into his arms, hugging her with so much tenderness and love that it brought tears of pleasure to her mother's eyes. Only then did he notice her, his round eyes widening in first amazement, then pleasure and finally in shocked realization.

****

**Epilogue:**

The baby boy came into the world a week early, to the delight of his parents, grandparents, and friends of the family. As April looked about the crowded room, watching as Matthew showed off his beautiful son to those present, April wondered how she could ever have doubted either her mother or her lover.

They had become firm friends in such a short space of time, having bonded on that long flight from Hong Kong to Canada.

As she looked around a room crowded with people from all races, she knew she had been so silly. Tom was cooing at the baby, and grinning unabashed at Cora, his meaning very clear. Matthew's parents were talking with her mother, the language difference proving no barrier at all as they took turns to hold their grandson.

Matthew sat down on the side of the bed as both sets of grandparents made silly baby noises at the tiny form in their midst. He placed an arm around April's shoulders and drew her into an affectionate hug and kiss.

"There's just one thing wrong with my grandchild," stated Matthew's mother. Her twinkling green eyes flickered to encompass Matthew's father and April's mother. "The unmarried status of his parents."

April glanced at Matthew as the dreaded subject was broached, finding his eyes on her in equal nervousness.

Once more, the clock was ticking...

THE END


End file.
